


Better Late Than Never

by Phia (ShinyNymphia)



Category: Digimon - All Media Types, Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth Hacker's Memory, Digimon Story Series | Digimon World Series
Genre: M/M, and that's the important thing, i feel like i rushed it towards the end but i can safely say that i made content for these boys, i just had this idea out of nowhere, so here it is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-04
Updated: 2019-11-04
Packaged: 2021-01-22 13:02:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21302519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShinyNymphia/pseuds/Phia
Summary: “Remember when we were like eight and you tried giving me chocolate on White Day?”
Relationships: Amazawa Keisuke/Nogi Yuu
Comments: 9
Kudos: 74





	Better Late Than Never

“Remember when we were like eight and you tried giving me chocolate on White Day?” Keisuke asks, and the immediate groan of dismay he receives from Yu tells him that, yes, he does indeed remember. It’s probably a little mean of him, but he can’t help grinning a bit.

“We were nine, and yes,” Yu says, burying his now reddening face in the palms of his hands, “I remember. I wish I didn’t.”

“Aw, really? I thought it was cute, you know.”

“No, you didn’t!!” Yu’s hands leave his face so that he can glare at him, an expression with no real heat behind it, just embarrassment, the flush still very visible on his cheeks, “You thought it was weird!!”

“I didn’t think it was _weird_!!”

“You did, too!! You looked at me and said ‘Yu, you’re doing it wrong - you’re supposed to give chocolate to a _girl,’_“ Yu quotes, and yeah, okay, he _does_ remember saying that, but still.

“I was just confused!! And stupid. And also nine,” Keisuke defends, “I thought it was like, against the rules or something. I _swear_ I didn’t think you were weird.” Yu huffs, folding his arms over his chest and looking away from him now, practically pouting and he thinks, not for the first time, that his best friend really is cute.

He’s always sort of thought that, because Yu is really cute, but nowadays it’s something that he finds himself paying more attention to.

“And then you started crying,” Keisuke recounts, and when Yu doesn’t say anything, he continues, “And you said, ‘But you’re the only one I want to give them to!!’“

He waits, and after a few moments, Yu starts talking again, still avoiding looking at him, “Yeah. You felt bad for making me cry, so you told me you’d take the chocolates, but I told you that I wouldn’t give them to you if you didn’t want them.” Keisuke can remember a much younger Yu glaring at him with tear-filled eyes and holding the box of chocolates away whenever he tried to reach for it.

“I didn’t really understand what I did wrong,” he admits.

Keisuke would like to say that it’s just because he was a kid and didn’t know better, but truthfully, years went by without him really understanding why Yu was so upset that day.  
In fact, it’s only over the past few months where several things have come to light that it really, truly hit him, and he realized how much of an idiot he was for not noticing sooner. 

But he’s hoping to remedy the situation now, even if it’s nearly a decade late.

“But I still hugged you until you stopped crying and we ate the chocolates together.”

Yu makes a small sound of acknowledgement and even with his face turned away from him, he can see the expression softening, a smile tugging at his lips. “Why’re you bringing this up now?” It’s a legitimate question. He did kind of bring it up out of the blue.

“Well…”

That’s as good a cue as any, so Keisuke takes a breath to steel himself, then removes his right hand from the pocket of his coat and pulls out a heart-shaped box in the process. Yu looks at him again, eyes wide with disbelief as he reaches across the table to give it to him.

“I thought maybe I could make up for it now?”

The look of utter shock on Yu’s face is incredibly adorable and hilarious, but he keeps himself from snickering at the sight, wanting his oldest and closest friend to know that he’s being completely serious. He waits as patiently as he can for Yu to gather his thoughts enough to actually form a coherent sentence.

“Y-You...it’s not even White Day, Keisuke!!” Yu sputters out, the blush on his cheeks clearly not fading anytime soon.

“Yeah, well, I couldn’t wait. So…?” Keisuke waves the small box lightly, as if enticing Yu to take it from him. He doesn’t, at least not right away, instead staring at the offered object for a handful of seconds in silence, then finally back up at his face.

“Are you...are you saying what I think you’re saying? You’re not just messing with me?” Yu’s right hand grips at the fabric of his jacket that covers his left shoulder, an action he tends to perform whenever he’s feeling vulnerable or anxious. He’s even looking at him in a way that suggests that he’s wary of his intentions, yet also hopeful.

“I’m pretty sure I’m saying what you think I’m saying,” Keisuke affirms, “And I swear I’m not messing with you. You know I wouldn’t; not over something like this.” Yu nods slowly, because he does know that, yet he still looks like he’s struggling to believe him.

And honestly, how can Keisuke blame him?

But things are different now.

They’re both older and he’s actually taken the time to reexamine their relationship and figure out how he really feels about his best friend. That’s ultimately what lead up to him deciding to go through with this months before the actual holiday.

He doesn’t care about the date; the important thing is what this represents for them, at least in his eyes. 

Yu takes a shaky breath and it’s only now that Keisuke notices how glassy his eyes are. He feels a stab of alarm, suddenly worried that he’s just screwed everything up, but it dissipates whenever he sees the smile on Yu’s face. He rubs at his face with his slightly too-long sleeves and manages to utter, “Y-You’re doing it wrong. You’re supposed to give them to a girl, Keisuke.”

Keisuke feels relief wash over him in a wave and he replies without even thinking, “I don’t wanna give them to anyone but you, though.” Yu laughs, the sound soft and a bit funny because of how he’s doing his best not to shed tears.

He starts to reach for the box with slightly trembling fingers and Keisuke pulls it back, smile warm and playful.

“Well, if you don’t want them, I’m not gonna give them to you.”

Yu huffs and looks happy even while he’s trying not to cry. Keisuke holds the chocolates out again after the childhood exchange plays out and he lets Yu take the box from him. He blinks whenever Yu immediately puts them down on the table in front of him, though, and before he can retract his hand once more, a smaller one suddenly seizes it in a gentle grip, keeping it there so that Yu can twine their fingers together.

It’s only barely an exaggeration to say that Keisuke’s heart melts.

“You’re really being serious?” Yu asks him again and Keisuke gets the feeling that it’s less out of doubt this time and more because he just wants him to repeat it, which is fine.

“I’ve literally never been more serious,” Keisuke assures, gently squeezing Yu’s hand.

His friend - well, more than that now, and really, he’s always been more than that - shuts his eyes for a moment and breathes, likely trying to compose himself after getting a bit worked up. He feels Yu’s grip on his hand tighten briefly, then loosen again.

“I’ve dreamed of something like this, you know,” Yu confesses softly, “More than once. I-I never thought it would actually happen. I can’t believe it’s real. This is real, right?”

“Yeah, Yu. Yeah,” he says, “It’s real. I promise. And I mean all of it.”

He meets his gaze and grips at his hand tightly a second time. “C-Can you say it?” he requests, voice just as quiet, then elaborates, “I-I need to hear it, Keisuke. I need to know that you’re really feeling what I’m feeling. Please?”

Yu’s looking at him almost pleadingly and it’s not like Keisuke planned on refusing him to begin with, but if he had, he still wouldn’t have been able to.

“Okay,” Keisuke replies, “Okay. I like you. I don’t think I’ve ever really liked anyone the way I like you. You’re my best friend, but you’re more than that...you’ve always been more. I’m so sorry for not understanding you back then.”

He pauses to gently squeeze at Yu’s hand again and starts caressing the back of it with his thumb in a consoling manner.

“But I do now. And I don’t want to be with anyone else but you.”

That seems to be the straw that breaks the camel’s back as Yu takes in a shuddering breath, the tears spilling over and sliding down those reddened cheeks entirely unbidden. Keisuke’s heart aches at the sight of them because he hates making him cry, but he knows it’s not out of heartbreak like it was all those years ago.

“M-Me too,” Yu manages, “I don’t want to be with anyone else but you, either. Y-You’ve always been the only choice, Keisuke.”

That’s not the first time he’s heard him say that, but he didn’t realize the true meaning of those words at the time. Now that he does, though, it makes his chest feel warm with affection for Yu, makes him want to hold him tightly in his arms and never let go, but he’s sitting across from him right now and it would feel a bit silly to get up just to do that.

He can do it later.

“Sorry it took me so long,” Keisuke tells him, and Yu laughs lightly.

“Better late than never, right?”

Yeah, that’s right.

Better late than never. And now he’s got the rest of forever to let Yu know over and over again how much he really means to him.

And he will.

“Yeah,” Keisuke agrees, “Better late than never.”


End file.
